Shrewsbury Little Leaguer with autism shines as MVP

SHREWSBURY — A light rain fell on the Coolidge School Field, but no way was that going to put a damper on 9-year-old Camden Chenevert's night — it was the playoffs.

So, while devoted fans of the White Sox, a Shrewsbury Little League minor-league division team, set up their chairs along the third-base line and popped up their umbrellas, Camden hopped out of his mom's SUV, grabbed her hand and, with his bat bag slung over his shoulder, hurriedly made his way toward the White Sox bench.

Camden, who was named after the Baltimore Orioles' ballpark, Camden Yards, got to the field after most of the other White Sox players, and for the 15 to 20 minutes before his arrival his 10 teammates wondered aloud, "Where's Cam?"

There he was, smiling as usual, and immediately all his teammates were, too.

Cam, a third-grader at Floral School, is, without question, the most popular kid on his team. He hits off a tee and doesn't play in the field, but he leads the league in hugs and home runs. He is the White Sox's MVP.

"He really gels the team," said a beaming Claire O'Neill, whose son, Rory, is a teammate and former classmate of Cam. "The team has developed such great spirit because of Cam. He brings out happiness in everyone. He puts everyone in the right frame of mind."

Cam is autistic and nonverbal. He faces daily challenges and has athletic limitations, but none of that matters to his teammates or to manager Mike Marshall. For the last two years, the White Sox have embraced Cam, and as a result his self-esteem and confidence have soared.

"Shrewsbury Little League has changed his world," said Cam's mom, Lauren Chenevert. "Camden is a kid with a smile since he started in this program. It's huge. The kids make him feel like he's not different than anyone else."

Cam's parents are both coaches (Lauren Chenevert is the Shrewsbury High field hockey coach; Sean Chenevert is the girls' lacrosse coach at Worcester Academy), and it is important to them that their children be part of a team. Their other sons, 11-year-old Tyler and 7-year-old Brady, also play baseball.

Integrating Cam to a team wasn't easy at first. The Cheneverts had a negative experience in another town, and when they tried another sport in Shrewsbury, "it didn't go well," Mrs. Chenevert said, "and we were crushed. We didn't know what to do."

"We were kind of scared to take the leap," Mrs. Chenevert said. "But every part of it has been positive."

At the farm level, Mr. Collins adapted a system for Cam in which he would hit off a tee, then run the bases — all of them — with a teammate. His son Chase was the first to round the bases and cross home plate with Cam.

"From the first time he got up to bat and hit it and ran the bases, the crowd embraced the whole idea of it," Mr. Collins said. "It was such a moment that everything just stopped. Lauren had tears in her eyes. It was just that moment of, 'This is incredible.'"

Chase and Cam have remained close — "He's my BFF," Chase said. Chase was on a different team this year, but he still came out to support Cam and the White Sox June 13.

"When Cam hits a home run, it makes me happy," Chase said.

Last year, when it was time for Cam to move up to minors, Mrs. Chenevert had some trepidation.

"In instructional he didn't stand out that much," she said, "but in minors where you have to throw and catch the ball and be an active participant, I was like, 'I don't know. It's exposing him to a lot of things that can happen.' "

Mr. Marshall assured her everything would be fine.

While his White Sox teammates face live pitching, Cam has continued to hit off a tee. He leads off the game and gets up again on his turn through the order, but only at the beginning of an inning. He runs the bases with a pair of teammates. Noah Johnston and Rory O'Neill had the honors of running with Cam as his manager waved him around third for his second "home run" of the June 13 game. Cam sits on the bench and cheers — smiling and doling out hugs to his coaches — when his teammates are in the field.

"Last year we didn't know what to expect," Mr. Marshall said, "but it was an immediate buy-in. The kids love having that relationship and helping out Cam. Usually when you're dealing with 8- or 9-year-olds the biggest question is usually, 'Can I pitch?' or 'Can I catch?' The biggest question we get is, 'Can I run with Cam?' These parents are raising good kids if that's the question they're asking during a baseball game."

Before the season, White Sox parents received an e-mail informing them Cam would be on the team.

"We talked (with our son) about how it's important that we have people of all different abilities and all different strengths," Claire O'Neill said, "and everyone makes a team work. The kids get so much out of having Cam as a teammate."

Watching Cam's wonderful experience with the White Sox inspired Mr. Collins to help start Shrewsbury's Challenger Division, a division of Little League that enables boys and girls with physical and mental challenges to play ball with the help of a "buddy." Fourteen kids, including Cam and ranging in age from 5 to 14, came out for the Challenger team this year.

"In my household we call it 'Cam's division,' " Mr. Collins said. "Cam was the inspiration for the Challenger Division. We said, 'If we can do it for one player, why can't we do it for others?' It's been amazing."

Cam uses some sign language and has other methods of communicating. He recently indicated to Mr. Marshall he'd like to try catching by pointing at the catcher's gear and then to home plate. He's been helping warm up pitchers in between innings. Cam also discovered sunflower seeds this year, a sure sign of a ballplayer.

Just a few years ago, Cam hated going to school. "He didn't want to go," his mother said. "We'd drag him."

Now, he can't wait to get to school in the morning.

"He likes to go to school to see the other kids," she said. "He sees kids at school he waves hello to them. They say hello to him. We're in the grocery store, people come over to say hello to him. He couldn't be more excited. (Before joining Shrewsbury Little League) he literally just hung out with himself. He didn't understand communication goes both ways. In a wonderful and gentle way, the kids have made him communicate and he wants to. He loves this team. He adores them, and he knows how lucky he is to be on this team."

Last Sunday, the Cheneverts showed their appreciation to the White Sox, Mr. Marshall and assistant coaches Brian Desruisseaux, Ryan Hopping, Jim Kane and Raul Escobar, by presenting the team with a community leadership award, an honor the Cheneverts will continue to sponsor for the Shrewsbury Little League annually.

"I feel like the White Sox team has really changed the culture of our community," Mrs. Chenevert said. "It's really important to gel a community together and the White Sox made such a difference in Camden's life and, disability or no disability, you never know what it can do for a person."

Contact Jennifer Toland at jtoland@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @JenTandG.

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